AJU PRESS - ASIA NEWS HUB

Journalist

Kim Hee-su김희수

ReporterMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Seoul City Hall & Defense, Foreign Affairs

Kim Hee-su is a bilingual reporter at AJU Press, covering defense and foreign affairs. Before joining AJP in 2025, she worked at The Korea Times, where she wrote interview stories, including a profile of North Korean defector Kim Gum-hyok, and produced digital content. She also previously worked as a researcher for KBS News 9’s International News Department, supporting correspondents in 10 countries around the world. She graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada with a double major in Book and Media Studies and East Asian Studies. "I'm driven by storytelling."

Latest by Kim Hee-su

Korea, India discuss expanding arms cooperation in first defense talks in 7 years SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back discussed ways to expand defense and defense industry cooperation with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Seoul on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. During the meeting at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul, the two ministers agreed to further broaden cooperation in defense and arms industry fields, building on the “joint strategic vision” adopted at last month’s summit between the leaders of the two countries. On defense industry cooperation, the two sides positively assessed past achievements, including exports of K9 self-propelled howitzers to India, and agreed to continue expanding cooperation. The two countries also signed agreements to support more practical cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity, U.N. peacekeeping operations and exchanges between their national defense universities. Ahn explained South Korea’s consistent efforts to restore inter-Korean trust and resume dialogue with North Korea for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, while asking for India’s continued support. The meeting was arranged after Ahn invited Singh to South Korea during the 12th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus last year. It marked the first visit by an Indian defense minister to South Korea since 2019. Separately, Lee Yong-cheol, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, met Singh to discuss defense industry cooperation and held the Korea-India Defense Forum. “The K9 self-propelled howitzer is a representative success story of Korea-India defense industry cooperation,” Lee said, expressing hope that the two countries would continue expanding cooperation not only in ongoing projects but also across a broader range of weapons systems. The two sides also discussed the launch of the Korea-India Defense Innovation Platform, or KIND-X, aimed at accelerating defense cooperation in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and unmanned aerial vehicles. Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems each signed memorandums of understanding with Larsen & Toubro, India’s leading defense company, in the presence of Lee and Singh. 2026-05-20 18:13:02
S. Korea pushes nuclear submarine plan, but fuel supply remains key hurdle SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s long-running ambition to deploy nuclear-powered submarines has gained fresh momentum as Seoul and Washington move to implement security agreements reached at their latest summit, though securing nuclear fuel remains the project’s biggest obstacle. The challenge facing the program is no longer simply whether South Korea can build or acquire nuclear-powered submarines, but how it would fuel them. According to data submitted by the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday, the Navy recently filed a formal request with the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the acquisition of Korean nuclear-powered submarines. The request marks the first step in South Korea’s weapons acquisition process, under which the military formally outlines operational requirements, deployment concepts, the number of units needed and the projected timeline for a new weapons system. The Navy confirmed it had “made a formal request related to the construction of nuclear-powered submarines,” but declined to disclose details. The Joint Chiefs of Staff is reviewing the proposal and is expected to make a decision as early as this month through a formal meeting. Diplomatic coordination between Seoul and Washington is also accelerating. A senior U.S. delegation led by the under secretary of state for political affairs is expected to visit South Korea within weeks as the allies activate a bilateral working group formed after last year’s summit agreements. The nuclear-powered submarine project has long been a strategic objective for South Korea’s military, dating back to the administration of former President Kim Young-sam. The initiative has repeatedly advanced and stalled under successive governments. During a summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last October, U.S. President Donald Trump and President Lee Jae Myung reportedly reached broad agreements on trade and security cooperation, including deeper discussions on strategic naval capabilities. Military authorities have reportedly considered acquiring at least four nuclear-powered submarines with a displacement of 5,000 tons or more after the mid-2030s, though the size and number of vessels may have changed during internal reviews. The central issue, however, remains nuclear fuel. During a visit to Seoul in April, Rafael Grossi said South Korea would require a separate safeguards arrangement with the International Atomic Energy Agency if it proceeds with nuclear-powered submarines. Grossi noted that nuclear material used in such vessels is “not continuously accessible to inspectors” because of the operational nature of submarine reactors. Because nuclear-powered submarines rely on onboard reactors, securing enriched uranium or other nuclear fuel is essential. If South Korea seeks to produce such fuel domestically or obtain related materials or technology from the United States, separate bilateral negotiations and institutional arrangements would likely be required. Reuters reported last December that South Korea’s push for nuclear-powered submarines could mark the end of “decades of U.S. resistance,” while also warning that the move could trigger an underwater arms race in Asia. The U.S. think tank Pacific Forum has also noted that the South Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement is focused primarily on civilian nuclear energy. Any transfer of naval nuclear fuel or related technologies could require revisions to the agreement, potentially sparking political debate in Washington. Suh Kune-yull, a professor of nuclear engineering at Seoul National University, said nuclear-powered submarines do not necessarily require highly enriched uranium. “When we talk about enrichment, people usually think of highly enriched uranium with more than 20 percent uranium-235, but nuclear-powered submarines do not necessarily have to use that level of fuel,” Suh said. “It is technically possible to use low-enriched uranium of around 5 percent, similar to the fuel used in nuclear power plants, and France and China are known to operate nuclear-powered submarines based on low-enriched uranium,” he added. The government is pushing to unveil a basic development plan for Korean nuclear-powered submarines by the end of this month. The blueprint is expected to outline Seoul’s principles on acquiring such vessels, construction plans and its stance on nuclear nonproliferation. But whether the initiative evolves beyond a political declaration into a practical roadmap may ultimately depend on how clearly Seoul addresses the question of nuclear fuel supply. 2026-05-20 17:44:42
Korea, India to sign MOU on honoring Korean War veterans SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korea and India will work together on international veterans affairs projects to honor Indian veterans who served in the 1950-53 Korean War as part of a medical support unit, Seoul’s Veterans Affairs Ministry said Wednesday. Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul and visiting Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will sign a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in international veterans affairs at the Indian Korean War Memorial in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. Under the MOU, the two countries will cooperate in collecting historical records related to India’s participation in the war, honoring veterans, promoting exchanges for veterans’ descendants and future generations, and carrying out academic, educational and cultural projects to shed light on the significance of India’s contribution. After signing the agreement, the two ministers will also attend an unveiling ceremony for the first memorial in South Korea dedicated to Indian Korean War veterans, built by India’s Defense Ministry. The memorial includes busts of Lt. Col. A.G. Rangaraj, who commanded a field hospital during the Korean War, and Gen. K.S. Thimayya, who served as chairman of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission after the armistice agreement. Rangaraj was selected by Seoul’s Veterans Affairs Ministry as the Korean War Hero of the Month in March. During the unveiling ceremony, Kwon will present a plaque recognizing the honor to Rangaraj’s descendant, Kalpana Prasad. When the Korean War broke out, India, then a neutral country, dispatched the largest medical contingent among countries that sent medical support, in line with a U.N. resolution on civilian relief. India’s 60th Parachute Field Ambulance arrived in Busan in 1950 and treated many soldiers and patients near the front lines while moving alongside combat units. 2026-05-20 15:45:58
Seoul, Washington to launch working group to advance nuclear submarine deal SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korea and the United States have agreed to launch a bilateral working group to implement security agreements reached at their summit last October, including Washington’s approval for Seoul to build nuclear-powered submarines. U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker is set to visit Seoul within weeks to lead an interagency delegation for the talks. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, who is visiting the United States, met with Hooker in Washington on Tuesday and exchanged views on overall bilateral relations, including the implementation of the Joint Fact Sheet adopted at last year’s summit, as well as regional and global affairs. Park and Hooker agreed to hold a kickoff meeting on nuclear-related security commitments under the Joint Fact Sheet released by the two countries in November, “sharing the view that the two allies should swiftly produce tangible results,” the ministry said. U.S. President Donald Trump visited South Korea last October on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and reached a set of trade and security agreements with President Lee Jae Myung. The security commitments included U.S. approval for South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program, as well as Seoul’s authority to pursue uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing — measures South Korea secured in return for its $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S. The latest announcement is expected to give momentum to the implementation of the agreements, which have drawn criticism for making little progress since they were announced. The U.S. State Department also said after the meeting that Hooker will travel to Seoul in the coming weeks with an interagency delegation “to launch a bilateral working group” to continue implementing the agreements reached during Trump’s visit to South Korea in October 2025. At the same time, the department said Hooker emphasized that the United States “expects continued progress in bilateral trade and industrial partnerships,” as well as “the need for fair treatment of U.S. companies” and the swift removal of market access barriers. The remarks were seen as underscoring Washington’s call for South Korea to quickly follow through on its promised investment in the United States, while also alluding to issues that have emerged between the two countries, including the Coupang data leak and South Korea’s proposed Online Platform Act, which the U.S. has viewed as a non-tariff barrier. 2026-05-20 11:20:58
Trump's Taiwan remarks expose diverging security pressures on Seoul and Taipei SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump's ambiguous remarks on arms sales to Taiwan after his summit with Xi Jinping have raised fresh questions about Washington's security commitments in Asia — with different implications for each partner. For Taiwan, the concern is immediate and existential: whether Washington will sustain both political support and arms transfers in the face of Beijing's sovereignty claim. For South Korea, the dilemma is less direct but consequential: whether the peninsula could be drawn into a broader U.S. strategy in a Taiwan contingency, pulling Seoul beyond its traditional role of deterring North Korea. Taiwan loomed over Trump's three-day Beijing summit despite the ceremony. Xi warned that mishandling the issue — Beijing's "top concern" — could "spiral into conflict." Trump told reporters the U.S. was not seeking to promote Taiwan's independence and confirmed he had discussed arms sales with Xi, but declined to say whether a pending weapons package would proceed, saying only he would decide "very quickly." Washington has no formal diplomatic relations or mutual defense treaty with Taipei. Its security commitment rests on the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which requires making available defense articles sufficient for Taiwan's self-defense and designates any non-peaceful attempt to determine Taiwan's future as a matter of "grave concern." "The security environment in East Asia is likely to become more militarized," said Jeong Kyung-woon of the Korea Military Affairs Association. South Korea's position is structurally different. A formal U.S. treaty ally hosting roughly 28,500 American troops, Seoul's alliance has long centered on deterring North Korea. But U.S. Forces Korea is increasingly discussed within Washington's broader Indo-Pacific posture. The 2026 National Defense Strategy envisions South Korea taking primary responsibility for deterring the North with more limited U.S. support. "The Korean Peninsula is no longer simply a space of inter-Korean confrontation," said Jeong. "Senior U.S. military officials refer to the peninsula as a key axis within the first island chain. South Korea could face growing pressure to support U.S. operations in a Taiwan contingency." Experts note that North Korea is unlikely to align itself entirely with Beijing despite the deepening partnership. Pyongyang has historically been wary of dependency on China and may keep open the possibility of direct engagement with Washington as a bargaining card — even as it deepens ties with both Beijing and Moscow. Seoul is also preparing for the transfer of wartime operational control, possible as early as the first quarter of 2029, contingent on meeting three conditions including demonstrated capability to respond to North Korean threats. 2026-05-19 16:43:00
US suspends joint defense body with Canada as security tensions grow SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - The U.S. has suspended a key defense cooperation body with Canada as tensions with Ottawa widen into security ties. U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said Monday that Washington would suspend activities of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, or PJBD, a bilateral body responsible for coordinating military cooperation and defense policy between the United States and Canada, according to The Hill. The PJBD, which includes military officials and civilian representatives from both countries, has met twice a year to coordinate joint defense policies. Colby said the decision was made because Canada had failed to show “credible progress” in meeting its defense commitments, adding that Washington would reassess how the PJBD contributes to the joint defense of North America. In the same post on X, Colby shared a video of Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. In the speech, Carney called for middle powers to unite against the influence of superpowers such as the United States and China, remarks widely seen as criticism of Trump’s approach to alliances. Colby’s decision to share the video while announcing the suspension of PJBD activities could be interpreted as a sign of Washington’s displeasure with Carney’s remarks. The Trump administration has also reacted sharply to calls within Canada to reduce purchases of U.S.-made weapons. Canada had planned to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, but the government is reportedly reviewing the plan. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra warned that if Canada decides not to purchase the F-35s, there could be changes to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, system. NORAD, established in 1958 during the Cold War to counter threats from the former Soviet Union, is a U.S.-Canada command responsible for aerospace warning and defense of North America. 2026-05-19 16:17:02
US approves $4 billion arms sales to South Korea SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - The U.S. State Department has approved potential arms sales to South Korea worth over $4 billion, including upgrade programs for Apache attack helicopters. The department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said Monday that it approved a possible Foreign Military Sale requested by the South Korean government for 24 MH-60R helicopters, along with related weapons and equipment. The estimated cost of the helicopter package is $3 billion. The State Department said the proposed sale would improve South Korea’s capability “to meet current and future threats” by strengthening “the multi-mission helicopter capability of its Navy.” It separately approved a $1.2 billion AH-64E Apache upgrade program, saying it would strengthen the South Korean Army’s attack helicopter capability. The department said the proposed sales would support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a major ally that is “a force for political stability and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific region.” It added that the sales would not alter the basic military balance in the region and would have no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness. The approvals do not mean final contracts have been signed. Under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process, the proposed sales must go through congressional notification procedures before any deal is finalized. The approvals also come days after Trump left open questions over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan following his recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week. 2026-05-19 11:35:58
Iran stays silent on HMM Namu in call with Seoul SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - Iran’s foreign minister blamed the U.S. and Israel for instability in the Middle East during a phone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, while Tehran made no mention of a recent attack on a Korean vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s foreign ministry. The call, reportedly requested by Seoul, was the first between Cho and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi since the HMM Namu was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz in early May. It marked their fourth phone conversation since the U.S.-Iran war broke out in February. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday via its official Telegram account that Araghchi held talks with Cho and explained Tehran’s view of the situation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry said Araghchi referred to the history of friendly relations between the two countries and stressed the importance of developing bilateral ties. It also said Araghchi briefed Cho on current conditions in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that instability imposed on the Middle East and its global consequences were caused by what it called acts of aggression by the U.S. and the “Zionist regime,” referring to Israel. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said earlier that Cho asked Iran to state its position on the recent attack on the HMM Namu in the Strait of Hormuz. Cho also explained that Seoul is conducting an additional investigation into the incident and emphasized the importance of the safety of all vessels, including Korean ships, and freedom of navigation in the strait. The HMM Namu had been anchored near the Strait of Hormuz in early May when two unidentified flying objects struck the port side near the stern of the vessel twice, about one minute apart, according to South Korean authorities. Debris from the flying objects that struck the HMM Namu later arrived in South Korea from Dubai last Friday for additional examination. Iran’s Embassy in Seoul has denied involvement in the incident. 2026-05-18 18:10:52
HD Hyundai Marine Solution to maintain power engines for US data center SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - HD Hyundai Marine Solution is entering the North American data center power market. The company said Monday that it recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Aperion Energy Group, or AEG, a U.S. energy infrastructure developer, to provide maintenance services for power engines used at a data center. Under the agreement, the two companies will cooperate for the long-term maintenance and operation of 33 power engines at a data center AEG is building in Texas. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries previously signed a contract with AEG in April to supply 684 megawatts of data center equipment based on 20-megawatt HiMSEN engines. As the rapid development of artificial intelligence drives up electricity consumption at data centers, the reliability of backup and primary power supply systems has become a key factor in ensuring efficient data center operations. HD Hyundai Marine Solution plans to use its cooperation with AEG as an opportunity to expand its presence in North America by highlighting the proven performance of HiMSEN engines and its engine maintenance capabilities. The company said the partnership is expected to go beyond engine supply and lead to long-term service agreements, as well as operation and maintenance contracts. “Through this cooperation, we aim to capture new demand in the North American data center market,” an HD Hyundai Marine Solution official said. 2026-05-18 17:20:27
HD Hyundai XiteSolution secures forklift orders in Africa, Middle East SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - HD Hyundai XiteSolution has secured a series of forklift contracts in Africa and the Middle East, expanding its presence in emerging industrial markets. The company said it recently signed a 37 billion won ($25 million) contract with the Algerian government to supply 316 industrial vehicles. The equipment will be delivered to Algeria in stages by August this year. It said it won the large-scale order by proposing equipment suited to Algeria’s local operating environment and highlighting its stable parts supply and service capabilities. The order includes 10-ton, 25-ton and 30-ton forklifts used for loading and transporting heavy cargo at large construction sites, shipyards and ports. The company said the high share of large and ultra-large models is expected to help improve both sales and profitability. The company has also signed forklift supply contracts worth 4 billion won in the Middle East. HD Hyundai XiteSolution received an order for about 50 small and midsized forklifts from an auto parts company in the United Arab Emirates, as well as an order for about 40 units from a logistics operator in Syria. The company said it is expanding its sales channels by targeting major customers in emerging markets with growing infrastructure needs. “This order reflects not only our product competitiveness but also our ability to carry out projects tailored to customer needs,” said Oh Byung-soo, head of HD Hyundai XiteSolution’s industrial vehicle division. “We will continue to secure additional large-scale order opportunities from key global customers.” 2026-05-18 16:45:23